Stop smoking, eat healthy, meditate to avoid obesity

New Delhi, Dec 20: Avoid obesity and its related health problems like diabetes, hypertension and hormonal disorders by changing few habits. Stop smoking, eat right at the right time, balance your diet and meditate, suggest experts.

* Eat healthy: A balanced diet should be a healthy mix of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It should include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low fat dairy, nuts to take care of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, fibre and probiotics.

* Eat right:

When you wake up: This is the time when your muscles are absolutely depleted and hungry after a 10 hour fast. Eating well here helps you to revitalise your muscles and prevents excess calorie intake in the latter half of the day.

A light breakfast like cereals & milk with honey and nuts could do the needful.

During mid meals: Pick up a piece of fruit, handful of soya nut or an oatmeal bar and see the difference for yourself.

Pre-workout: To sustain throughout the workout and to get the maximum out of it, it is mandatory to fuel your system with the right kind of food like fruits, nuts and eggs.

At night: Most people skip their meals due to their busy scheduler overwork and tend to gorge on heavy lavish dinner which is the main culprit of added on calories and feeling of sluggishness throughout the day. The trick is to keep the dinner light with soups, salads, lean meat and yoghurt.

During parties: It is wise to opt for salads, veggies, barbecued or roasted snacks rather than the fried snacks and creamy dishes.

* Drink water: Drinking water at regular intervals helps in better digestion and also keeps the body hydrated. This leads to better metabolism and subsequent weight loss.

* Move your body: Physical inactivity raises the risk of obesity. Exercise renders cells more sensitive to insulin. A mere brisk walk makes the difference. An ideal workout designed by a health professional is a suitable mix of resistance and aerobic training for optimum muscle building along with weight loss.

* Sleep well: It's a well-known fact that when asleep the human body produces growt hormones that increase metabolism and repair tissue. Sleep deprivation not only hampers this bodily activity but also makes the body lethargic to be able to focus on any other physical or mental activity planned during the day.

* Keep regular medical appointments. After a certain age, it's important to get lipids checked as these are the indicators of any future obesity-related risk that might befall.

* Stop smoking and curb drinking alcohol: Tobacco interferes with the production of enzymes for effective digestion. Limiting alcohol intake, if not a total ban, will also make a difference.

Avoid fad diets that recommend unsafe practices such as fasting (going without food for long periods of time) or cutting out entire food groups such as meat, fish, wheat or dairy products. There are chances of putting those extra kilos back once the fasting is over.